M o u r v é d r e
Whether Mataro or Mourvédre is your moniker of choice for the Spanish and French red winegrape variety, one thing
is certain: it’s now making a bigger impression as a straight varietal in Australian wineries, particularly in the Barossa
Valley. This issue’s Mourvédre Varietal Report is introduced by Tim Smith, of Tim Smith Wines and Chateau Tanunda.
It’s at the former establishment where Smith affords himself the chance to experiment with varietal Mourvédre. Other
industry members sharing their insights to letting Mourvédre stand on its own, away from blended wines, include
Barossa-based Torbreck chief winemaker David Powell, with senior winemaker Craig Isbel and export director
Andrew Tierney; Hewitson chief executive and chief winemaker Dean Hewitson, with vineyards in five of South
Australia’s premier wine regions; and Gippsland’s Sarsfield Estate chief executive and winemaker Suzanne
Rutschmann. The Wine Industry Journal thanks the writers, and the wineries that also contributed examples of their
latest release Mourvédres to the tasting associated with this feature. Turn to page 84 to see Tim Smith, Matt Gant
and Rolf Binder’s results of the tasting, conducted by the Wine Industry Journal in the Barossa Valley.
Mataro stands on its own
By Tim Smith
Tim Smith Wines
Barossa Valley, South Australia
M
y fascination with Mataro (which is my choice of
synonym for the variety, given its traditional use in
the Barossa Valley) began like some of my best ideas:
over a cleansing ale with fellow winemaker Chris Ringland in
the Greenock Tavern after a Barossa Wine Show tasting in the
early 1990s. This was well before the concept of ‘GSM’
(Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro) blends became fashionable (again)
in Australia (Rockford and Charles Melton notwithstanding).
Mataro, or as it is known by two other close alternative names,
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Monastrell (Spain) and Mourvédre (France), and even Balzac
and Esparte in some regions, has long had something of an
‘always the bridesmaid, but never the bride’ type of image when
spoken of compared with its most common blending partners,
Grenache and Shiraz.
In Australia, Mataro has been blended in lesser volumes with
the Portuguese varieties of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cao and
Tinta Amarella (Trincadeira) for fortified wines, given their
ability to ripen to elevated Baumé levels. However, it is usually
the classic Australian tawny port style that these grapes have
usually been directed to.
What is it about this alluring variety then that has seen it gain
something of a resurgence, albeit most notably in blends?
Various incarnations of the classic GSM are now relatively
commonplace in fine wine stores, albeit not always necessarily
labelled with the component varieties. It’s no surprise that,
commonly, the blending partners are the classic Rhône varieties,
which may further emphasise its affinity as a blending variety.
However, in some southern French appellations, the variety
plays a leading role, such as at Chateau de Beaucastel and in
Bandol, where appellation laws state that some 50% of the
assemblage is Mourvédre. Domaine Tempier is perhaps the most
well-known of these.
Growing Mataro
One of the unique features of Mataro is its tendency towards
an upright growth pattern. In the past, ‘bush’ or ‘goblet’ style
vine training was the norm. This upright pattern meant that
bush vines tended towards an open structure, allowing good air
circulation through the plant with the effect of keeping disease
incidence low, to a degree. This upright growth also allows quite
successful conversion from bush-trained vines to trellisedtrained vines when reworking older vineyards.
The variety has quite a distinctive leaf pattern, being typically
3-5 lobes with a downy coating on the lower surface. It is this
feature that is usually used to distinguish it from Grenache,
which tends to have a glossy green leaf, and is commonly planted
in the same regions.
Perhaps the single biggest feature and, indeed, the reason why
the variety has been grown in warm to hot climates for so long
is its ability to withstand heat. Most of the older vine material
planted in the warm to hot regions of Australia, such as McLaren
Vale and the Barossa and in various regions throughout Europe,
typically has been dry-grown. In fact, it is generally recognised
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M o u r v é d r e
among Mataro winemakers that the best vintages seem to be
from hot years. However, in conditions of extreme heat and
especially with unirrigated vines, premature leaf drop can be a
problem.
Full flavour development is, in my experience, characterised
when the grape juice goes from an almost irridescent green
colour to taking on a salmon-pink hue. The seeds are also a
critical maturity indicator; dark seeds are a sign that maturity is
close but not definite. This is a phenomenon that seems to occur
over a relatively short number of days, which needs to be judged
well as the window of opportunity to determine harvest is quite
tight. As with other varieties, winemakers need to have an eye
on inclement weather – the variety seems able to withstand one
significant rain event during the ripening period but not two.
Under these conditions even the thick skins can be susceptible
to disease.
Making Mataro
As a late ripening and late harvested variety, better Mataro
wines generally have higher alcohol levels. The skins are thick
and it is here that Mataro gets its classic tannin structure if
worked carefully during fermentation. It is this natural tannin
that tends to give the resultant wine some degree of protection
from oxidation, unlike the thin-skinned and oxidation-prone
Grenache.
A quick personal brief on making Mataro is as follows:
Fruit harvest is typically at about 14Be or above. The handpicked fruit is destemmed to open stainless steel fermenters with
a width-to-height ratio of about 2:1. This gives a wide surface
area for the fermenting skins to be in touch with the juice,
similar to the lagars in older Portugese wineries. It also allows
for some safe ‘pigeage’ mid-fermentation. In good years, where
the stems show good lignification at harvest, some whole
bunches may be included in the ferment, up to a maximum of
about 10% to get some lifted carbonic maceration characters.
Tartaric acid is added to give pre-fermentation pH of about 3.5.
TA is typically on the higher side pre-fermentation (up to 8.5g/L
in some instances) but this reduces during alcoholic and
malolactic fermentation (MLF). No SO2 or tannin is added in
the vineyard or at the crusher. After an ambient temperature
pre-fermentation soak for about 24 hours, a cultured yeast strain
(BM4X4) is added at 200ppm which has a moderate lag phase
during the start of fermentation but a steady and strong finish.
Various yeast nutrient supplements are used depending on the
fermentation status (such as after a heat spike and subsequent
chilling).
Temperature during fermentation is kept between 22-28°C,
but is allowed to remain relatively high at the end of fermentation
to allow it to finish efficiently, and to give MLF a good chance
to initiate. The wine is left on skins generally for a minimum of
seven days and up to about 12, with manual plunging of the cap
at 0Be to keep the cap wet. Time on skins is determined by
daily tasting. MLF is carried out with indigenous bacteria. The
must is pressed via a basket press, and all pressings are usually
included in with the free run. This is a critical decision, as the
grape tannins are sometimes quite firm, depending on the cap
management during fermentation.
Barrel ageing is in older French oak hogsheads, which have
been refired and SO2 gas purged to maintain hygiene.
Chateau Tanunda winemaker Tim Smith deep in thought during the
tasting of Mourvédre wines in the winery’s boardroom for the Wine
Industry Journal in March this year.
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M o u r v é d r e
No new oak is used. Ageing is typically 12 months in oak, as
I like the wine to be bottled with all of the primary fruit
characters showing. The wine is blended ex-oak as a barrel
selection, and allowed to settle in tank at about 8°C to settle out
any remaining yeast lees. Then it is bottled unfined and filtered.
Packaging is in a Premium Standard Burgundy bottle, with a
move to Stelvin Lux screwcap for the 2009 vintage.
Descriptors
The wines made from Mataro have had many descriptors,
including (but not limited to): Kirsch, blueberry, earthy, gamey,
feral, gingerbread, Chinese five-spice, savoury, and to quote
Adelaide wine scribe Philip White, ‘meaty road-kill whoof ’.
Apart from these various descriptors, Mataro wines have the
ability to age well, offer great complexity, and really do pair well
with a wide range of foods. In blends, the variety has the
intrinsic ability to make for a number of styles of wine depending
on the blending partners. One older winemaker in the Barossa
has described the old Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro blends as being
like ‘flesh, blood and bones’, whereby the Grenache component
provided the flesh, the Shiraz component the blood, and the
Mataro component the bones. This theory tends to hold true, as
a little Mataro in a number of Barossa Shiraz wines has been a
regional quirk for some time to build structure.
In closing, I make the observation that with all the current
interest for finding new and exciting varieties to grow in
changing environmental conditions dictated to us by global
warming, perhaps we have one potential candidate already? The
advantages of this are that there is a history to draw upon for
both grapegrowing and winemaking, and the time-proven
ability of the variety to thrive in warmer climates.
Hewitson
Various vineyards in South Australia
By chief executive and chief winemaker Dean Hewitson
H
istorically, Mourvèdre is grown around the
Mediterranean in Spain and France where it is
traditionally blended with the other local varieties.
Occasionally, it is made into a varietal wine, most notably
Bandol, in Provence, and also some isolated parts of Spain. There
is a reason for this. Normally, Mourvèdre makes quite ordinary
wine and is best blended, adding complexity and dimension to
the blend. If it was consistently made into very good wine, then
we would see it regularly as a varietal and it would be as popular
as Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon, for example. But it is not. So,
we need a special stock and a special place to make good
Mourvèdre as a varietal, as history suggests.
In Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine, she tells us
that, ‘In southern France, Mourvèdre produces wines considered
useful for their structure...’ I find this interesting. The Mourvèdre
we make at Hewitson from fully ripe grapes has very soft tannins
and soft acidity. In Robinson’s defence I suppose her conclusion
might be drawn from the French experience of field blends i.e.,
Hewitson, co-owned
by chief executive and
chief winemaker Dean Hewitson,
produces traditionally-made,
expressive wines
from vineyards in five
South Australian
regions.
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M o u r v é d r e
Mourvèdre, Shiraz, Grenache, etc, all planted together in the
same vineyard. Picking such a vineyard would be based on the
ripeness of the most populous variety and the numbers tell us
this is Grenache. Mourvèdre ripens much later than Grenache
and, indeed, when Grenache is ripe, the Mourvèdre is still quite
hard and unyielding. Our experience certainly affirms this
theory. Of course, Mourvèdre came to Australia with the great
collection of 1832 by James Busby. Indeed, the Mourvèdre he
selected may have had softer than usual tannins and, after all,
were pre-phylloxera.
So, having the right stock, the right place, enabling it to get
fully ripe and respecting it individually is critical to making
great Mourvèdre. A warm, dry area is perfect for Mourvèdre. It
really is a late-ripening varietal and needs the sun and time. A
dry, sunny autumn is critical.
Hewitson is lucky to have what is considered to be the oldest
Mourvèdre vineyard on Earth. Diary entries suggest this
vineyard was planted in 1853, although it could be earlier, but
certainly not later. Where a vine has died, there is a gap in the
vineyard. These vines are all the original planting. We make the
grapes from these vines into a single-vineyard varietal wine called
Old Garden, the historical name for the vineyard. Twelve years
ago, we took cuttings from the Old Garden and simply put these
sticks into the ground nearby and grew them up the same way:
unirrigated little bush vines, babies from Old Garden. For years
we needed to, and wanted to, blend this wine. However, when
this vineyard got to 10 years old the quality was such that it was
good enough to make a varietal wine from it, which we called
Baby Bush Mourvèdre. This is precisely what the old timer
vignerons in France and older winemakers in Australia told me:
that a vine needs to get to about 10 years of age before it starts to
‘hit its straps’. So, again, history tells us that making great wine
is a long-term project. If you want to make good varietal
Mourvèdre the answers are in history. If you are not prepared to
be honest about quality, including when to blend, which will be
more common than not, then perhaps you are playing with the
wrong variety or, indeed, the wrong game.
Sarsfield Estate
Gippsland, Victoria
By chief executive and winemaker Suzanne Rutschmann
S
arsfield Estate partner Peter Albrecht and I planted a small
block of Mourvèdre in 1992, believing it to be Shiraz. The
propagation material came from a few very old vines
growing near the old Sarsfield Pub.
It is not a variety we would have chosen for our cool area, but
we usually have very long, warm and dry autumns which give it
plenty of time to ripen.
Tannin management is the major challenge but, in a warm
year, it makes a wine of impressive impact.
In the past, we have used it mainly for blending, where at a
low percentage it does interesting things to blackberry flavours.
However, in a warm year we cannot resist temptation and fill a
French barrique.
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Viticulture
The vines grow on sandy, very well drained and fairly poor soil
in the warmest and most protected spot in our vineyard. Planted
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M o u r v é d r e
Sarsfield Estate chief executive and winemaker Suzanne Rutschmann.
at 1.8m x 2.1m, they stand up better than
other varieties to dry weather, but during
prolonged drought we use drip-irrigation.
In our vineyard Mourvèdre is a vigorous,
very upright variety. It shows a marked
tendency to shoot from terminal buds
only, which made early management
difficult. It also tends to alternate cropping.
After trying many different pruning and
training methods we eventually settled on
spur-pruning and VSP as by far the
simplest option. We prune quite hard to
about 20 buds with a pruning weight of
1400g, and follow up with shoot and
bunch-thinning, as well as trimming if
required.
Mourvèdre has large bunches of 200300g and we crop it at up to 4 tonnes per
acre. We have found that in our area we
need fairly high sugar levels to get as much
tannin ripeness as possible. It is the last
variety to be picked and is usually harvested
together with the last of the Cabernet
Sauvignon, sometimes as late as May. The
average picking date for the last five years is
18 April, with 25.5 Brix, pH3.6, TA 5.0g/L;
tannin ripeness is generally critical.
Winemaking
With the exception of the crusher and
the barrel washer, our winery runs entirely
on a small solar system. Therefore, we use
very traditional winemaking methods.
Must is fermented in open vats and
plunged several times a day, with special
attention to acid levels and tannin
extraction. We have found that the
immature tannins do not extract easily and
we usually get away with some green seeds.
By then, temperatures in the winery are
generally low and after cold soaking for
two days, we inoculate with one of the
vigorously fermenting yeasts.
At dryness, generally after 10 days, we
press the skins in a hand-operated
wooden basket press, settle for 24 hours,
inoculate for malolactic fermentation and
run to barrel.
Barrel maturation takes from 18-24
months.
We may have to use a light fining, but
generally bottle unfined and without
filtering. Our preferred closure is cork, which
gives the wine maximum ageing potential.
Marketing
Mourvèdre ripening on the vine at Sarsfield Estate, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, prior to this
year’s harvest.
80
The Sarsfield Estate Mourvèdre is sold
exclusively through cellar door and
mailing list.
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M o u r v é d r e
The Materne family, of the Barossa Valley, grows the Mataro grapes that become Torbreck’s ‘The Pict’ label.
Torbreck
Barossa Valley, South Australia
By chief winemaker David Powell, with
senior winemaker Craig Isbel and sales
and export director Andrew Tierney
A
ppropriately, I am writing this with
the meaty, spicy and wild taste of
Mataro on my palate, having just
tasted through the 2008 Pict barrels prior
to its blending. The fresh, lifted
aromatics and complex, dense palate of
the 2008 wine speaks volumes for the
type of climatic conditions in which
Mataro thrives. I still have ‘flashbacks’
of the 2008 vintage; travelling to
work at 6am with hot air blowing in
my face as another sweltering 38°C
built and the Shiraz continued to
dehydrate. However, as we saw in the
drought of 2007, Mataro loves hot
and dry conditions and it was the
standout performer in both 2007
and 2008.
VITICULTURE
The Pict vineyard is quite isolated
and sits on the very north-western
fringe of the Barossa Valley, in the
sub-region of northern Greenock.
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M o u r v é d r e
It was planted in the mid-1920s and is completely unirrigated.
The vineyard site is sheltered, slopes slightly south-easterly and
is about 320 metres above sea level. It is planted on shallow
sandy quartz over deep clays and is owned and cared for by the
Materne family. The vines are low yielding and produce small
bunches and berries due to the tough soil and their reliance on
rainfall as their only source of water. Mataro is a very difficult
variety to grow, and holding leaf throughout the ripening period
is extremely challenging, especially in a dry-grown environment.
David Materne considers controlling the competition from
weeds and covercrops very important in The Pict vineyard, and
uses the growth in the mid-rows to help manage water available
to the vines. Crop-thinning through removal of the second crop
at late veraison is also considered vital and ensures that the
remaining fruit can achieve full ripeness.
WINEMAKING
Torbreck managing director and chief winemaker David Powell.
All our wines rely on great terroir and viticulture and we believe
that an extremely significant influence on the quality of our wine
is when the fruit leaves the vineyard (the picking date). This is
particularly true for Mataro where patience is required to ensure
physiological and flavour ripeness is achieved, regardless of the
sugar levels in the fruit. When picked green, Mataro can be
tough, angular, insipid and lifeless. However, patience is rewarded
with incredibly dense, complex and complete wines made from
ripe Mataro in the Barossa Valley, where we truly believe some of
the best Mataro wines in the world can be made. The 2006 Pict
was harvested on the 6 May and the 2007 was harvested on 24
April. Sometimes, it is difficult to convince growers that their
fruit isn’t ripe when their neighbours are pruning and the birds
are hungry for the last grapes still hanging!
At Torbreck, we use Old World winemaking techniques to
make all our wines, and The Pict is no exception. The handpicked fruit is de-stemmed, not crushed, in small open
fermenters where it is left to sit for 24 hours. It is then inoculated
and fermented for around seven days, during which time it is
pumped over twice daily. We allow the Mataro ferments to get
quite warm (around 28-30°C) in order to extract colour and
character from the skins. It is important for us not to let the
ferment get too hot towards the end so that the ‘prettier’
aromatics are not lost. We basket press the wine off skins at
around 2-3Be and allow the wine to finish primary ferment in
stainless steel tanks. It is then racked off gross lees where The
Pict is aged in 100% new French oak barriques.
Malolactic fermentation is completed naturally and the wine
is racked once off malo lees and returned to barrel for around
two years. The entire process is quite gentle and is designed to
minimise maceration of skins and seeds, which is another source
of tougher, angular flavours. The best barrels are selected and
the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
Marketing
Mataro is a misunderstood variety, both in Australia and in
international markets. The Pict is based more on the rusticity of
the wines of Bandol, in the Provence region of France, more so
than the powerful and technologically astute wines of New
World winemakers. Our friends in Bandol, such as Danial
Ravier, of the famous house Domaine Tempier, are great
admirers of this wine. This helps us in understanding the
82
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M o u r v é d r e
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diversity of the grape and original terroir
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The Pict is produced in minute
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international markets, plus our cellar
door and mailing list. Our importers are
encouraged to taste the wine with avid
wine consumers, journalists and fine wine
specialists in restaurants and retail. It is
sold as a curio that sparks interest from
those looking for wines that are away
from the mainstream.
We taste this wine at dinners and events
when travelling to promote the brand.
We believe that the Barossa Valley is a
unique place that flourishes with Mataro
and Grenache equally. It is arguably
better suited to these varieties than Shiraz,
especially as the region warms.
Due to the small volumes (less than
200 dozen produced) we do not have any
problem selling this wine.
In fact, it is often one of the first to sell
out once people taste it.
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83
M o u r v é d r e
Varietal Mourvédre makes
winemakers take note
By Lauren Jones
I
n the luxurious setting of the Chateau
Tanunda boardroom on 22 March,
16 Australian Mourvédre wines were
set out for Barossa Valley winemakers
Tim Smith, Rolf Binder and Matt Gant
to assess for the Wine Industry Journal.
“I haven’t seen this many Australian
Mourvédres in one bracket previously, or
from as many producers,” said Tim
Smith, as the panel took their seats.
Of the 16 wines, eight were from the
Barossa Valley, which is gaining in
reputation as a premier region for
Mourvédre. Vintages presented ranged
from 2009 to one 2005 example, which
was closed with cork, as were most of the
2006 wines, indicating that Australian
winemakers didn’t fully embrace
screwcaps until 2007 and beyond.
“From the 2007 wines, through to the
2006 examples, the varietal character
became more apparent. This is similar to
what happens with Eden Valley Shiraz;
it’s difficult to see pepper and spice
characters until the wine has spent three
to four years in the bottle,” Matt Gant
said. “It would be interesting to re-taste
these wines in two or three years’ time.”
Rolf Binder said all the wines presented
were “very food friendly; not conversation
wines”.
“Mourvédres are not monsters like
Shiraz can be. If consumers are looking
for an alternative red wine to Shiraz, they
could go for Mourvédre, rather than
Pinot Noir,” he said.
The heatwaves that affected South
Australia and Victoria at the time of the
2008 vintage was discussed, with the panel
suggesting that most of the wines from that
year presented in this line-up appeared to
be heat-affected in small ways. Bremerton’s
Limited Release Mourvédre was considered
to be an exception and the panel found it
to be an interesting wine, rating it among
the favourites from this line-up.
Other favourites were both the 2006 and
2005 The Old Faithful Estate ‘Almond
Grove’ Mourvédre, and Hewitson 2007 Old
Garden Mourvédre.
Asked what Mourvédre makers should
84
The trio of Barossan winemakers that tasted their way through 16 Australian Mourvédres, or
Mataros in the local vernacular, comprised (from left) Rolf Binder, of Veritas Winery, maker of the
Magpie Estate label; Tim Smith, of host winery Chateau Tanunda and Tim Smith Wines; and Matt
Gant, of First Drop Wines.
Rolf Binder (foreground) and Tim Smith deliberate over the bracket of varietal Mourvédre for the
Wine Industry Journal.
be careful of in future vintages, Binder
suggested phenological ripeness.
“Don’t employ Shiraz-making techniques.
Have an aim of what you’re trying to achieve
with other varieties. Mourvédre builds in
the fermenter and winemakers often don’t
see anything happen for the first few days.
It suits a traditional heading down approach
to fermentation to soften the tannins,”
Binder said.
Tim Smith said all the wines on show
for this tasting highlighted a “sensibility
in winemaking”.
“None of the wines have been hammered
with oak or acid. Mourvédre is often the
last picked from the vineyard, so winemakers
need to keep their minds switched on late in
the vintage process,” Smith said.
The Wine Industry Journal thanks the
panellists for their time and effort given to
the tasting while in the midst of vintage.
Special thanks also to Chateau Tanunda
functions and events manager Richelle
Weiher and cellar door staff for their
valued assistance in preparing the
boardroom for the tasting event.
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M o u r v é d r e
Tim Smith
Wines
Mataro
2009
TANK
SAMPLE
Wirra Wirra Vineyards ‘Sparrow’s Lodge’
2009 Mourvédre (pre-release sample)
Tim Smith Wines 2009 Mataro
(tank sample)
Terra Felix ‘E‘Vette’s Block’ 2009
Mourvédre
Teusner Wines ‘The Dog Strangler’ 2008
Mataro
McLaren Vale, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $30/bottle (cellar door)
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $32/bottle
Nagambie Lakes, Central Victoria
14.6% v/v – screwcap
RRP $16/bottle
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $25/bottle
Brick red in colour. A porty, ripe, jammy,
spicy, Kirsch nose with aromas of crushed
nettle and herbs, and a hint of oak. Ripe,
red fruit on the palate with focussed
flavours of vanilla, spice and cloves.
Simple overall with soft tannins, finishing
long and firm.
Deep crimson in colour. Spice, cinnamon,
dark cherry, star anise, violets, earth and
caramel on the nose. A voluptuous,
generous, firm and ripe palate with talclike tannins. Red fruit flavours and spice
with drying tannins, round palate weight
and a savoury ‘cut’ to finish.
Dark brick red in colour. A dark olive,
earthy, red fruit, medicinal, jube lolly,
fragrant nose. The palate is tight and
unyielding with vibrant plum flavours. One
panellist considered this wine to be
“looking for more fruit to carry the
tannins”. “This wine has good structure,
but it’s one for the cellar,” another taster
said. Once the price of this wine was
revealed, one panellist said he would have
considered scoring it higher, as he
believed it represented good value for
money. “A full-flavoured pasta would help
to disguise the tannin,” he said.
Crimson in colour. Considered to be the
most approachable of the wines in the
line-up to this point. Brooding, dark
cherry, burnt cinnamon aromas with a hint
of port-like characters. Dense and lush
fruit on the palate with great depth and
focus. “Slurpy” with rich, vibrant texture
and soft, elegant tannins. Subtle,
approachable and quite complex overall.
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M o u r v é d r e
Bremerton 2008 Special Release
Mourvédre
Langhorne Creek, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $24/bottle
Crimson red in colour. Delicately fragrant
with toast, caramel and brambly, mosslike fruit. A lovely, rich, warm and deeply
rolling palate with clean, ripe fruit flavours.
Long length, spicy lift, good texture and a
great fruit finish. The panel expected they
would see more character from this wine
as it ages and were quite enthused to see
a varietal Mourvédre from Langhorne
Creek.
Sarsfield Estate 2008 Mourvédre
Hewitson ‘Baby Bush’ 2008 Mourvédre
Hewitson ‘Old Garden’ 2008 Mourvédre
Gippsland, Victoria
14.2% v/v – cork
RRP $22.50/bottle (cellar door)
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $29/bottle
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $70/bottle
Brick red in colour. A whack of oak on the
nose with medicinal, fly spray, menthol,
rose petal, and some marzipan and
caramel lift. One taster labelled the palate
as “metallic”, while others found it to be
rich, but tightly grained and very acidic
with cinnamon flavours.
Deep crimson in colour. A rich, porty,
earthy, toffee nose with dark, brooding
aromas, gun flint and some development.
Cut hay on the palate with prunes and
cloves in a soapy, high pH style. The panel
admitted that the assessment of this wine
may have been hindered by its position in
the line-up, following the previous
example.
Opaque crimson in colour. Spice and
volatile acidity lift on the nose with a
background of cedar oak. The VA showed
again on the palate, giving a prickly
mouthfeel. One taster was pleased with
this wine’s weight and integration of fruit
and tannins and scored it highly, making
further comment about the tough
conditions for Mourvédre during 2008’s
heatwave.
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M o u r v é d r e
Hewitson ‘Old Garden’ 2007 Mourvédre
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – screwcap
RRP $70/bottle
Deep brick red in colour. A savoury,
brooding nose with aromas of dark cherry,
spice, cloves, mace and old, bilgy oak.
Fleshy, savoury and well-balanced
flavours with tart red fruits, spice and
elegant aromatics that evolved in the
glass. Complex overall with smoke and
ash characters and good persistence. This
wine rated as a gold medal standard with
one taster considering it to be a good
example of Australian Mourvédre.
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Terra Felix ‘E‘Vette’s Block’ 2007
Mourvédre
Teusner Wines ‘The Astral Series’ 2006
Moppa Mataro
Nagambie Lakes, Central Victoria
14.1% v/v – screwcap
RRP $16/bottle
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14.5% v/v – cork
RRP $98/bottle
Deep crimson in colour. Liquorice, boot
polish, mint, cinnamon, cherry fruit and
cold tea on the nose. The palate was
considered by one taster to be sour and
“saliva sapping”, while others enjoyed its
depth and weight with fine, grainy tannins.
Mid-tawny, brick red in colour. One taster
used the descriptor of ‘sweaty horse’ to
describe the nose of this wine, referring to
the gamey, savoury, earthy aromas, along
with cut hay, spice, roasted herbs and
older oak integration. A palate of spice
box, pot-pourri, caramel, chalk-like
tannins and good length. “Rich, true
Mataro,” one taster said. Another panellist
labelled it an “interesting and evocative
wine”.
Magpie Estate (Rolf Binder @ Veritas
Winery) ‘The Black Sock’ 2006
Mourvédre
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14% v/v – screwcap
RRP $25/bottle
Deep brick red in colour. A closed, inky
nose with hints of spice, dark cherry,
some olive and cedar. A dense, fleshy
palate with Kirsch and spice flavours and
rich, piercing tannins with “backbone”.
One taster considered it needed time to
evolve in the glass, so revisited it later in
the tasting process, scoring it highly.
Another panellist said this wine had “great
presence”.
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M o u r v é d r e
Sarsfield Estate 2006 Mourvédre
Torbreck ‘The Pict’ 2006 Mataro
Gippsland, Victoria
14.5 v/v – cork
RRP $22.50/bottle (cellar door)
Barossa Valley, South Australia
14% v/v – cork
RRP $188/bottle
Deep crimson red in colour. Liniment, ‘Old
Spice’, menthol, florals and spice on the
nose. A rich, rolling palate with menthol
again and textured, fine-grain tannins.
Reasonable length on a “thoughtprovoking wine”, which had the panel
discussing the relationship between
Brettanomyces and Mourvédre and how
much ‘Brett’ is too much.
Tawny in colour with red hues. Indian
spices on the nose with gamey, horsey
aromas and some Brettanomyces
character, but not unpleasantly so. A rich
and opulent palate with good, supporting,
“expensive” oak and smoky, ash-like,
savoury flavours.
The Old Faithful Estate ‘Almond Grove’
2006 Mourvédre
The Old Faithful Estate ‘Almond Grove’
2005 Mourvédre
McLaren Vale, South Australia
14% v/v – cork
RRP $50/bottle
McLaren Vale, South Australia
14.5% v/v – cork
RRP $50/bottle
Deep brick red in colour. This wine’s nose
showed a great, brooding lift with aromas
of spice, stinging nettle, menthol, earth,
marzipan and some cedar. One taster
considered this wine to be classically
southern Rhône in style, perfectly
balanced between the Old and New
Worlds. The palate evoked descriptors of
the ilk of luscious, unctuous and
voluptuous, with one taster summing it up
as “cuddly”. Mouthfilling flavour and good
length.
Deep brick red in colour. The nose of this
wine was closed and broody, with hints of
vanilla, spice, dark olive, cloves, musk
stick and bilge water. A leaner palate than
the 2006 example of this wine, but still
showing great structure and length,
finishing a touch dry but within the
expected Mourvédre style.
The Wine Industry Journal thanks Liam West,
of Wine Images Australia, for his professionalism in
producing the bottle photographs for this issue's tasting notes.
For further information about Wine Images Australia,
see the advertisement on page 56 of this issue, telephone
w ine images
australia
+61 8 7200 2729, or visit www.wineimagesaustralia.com.au
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